Already a household name in the Chinese wind energy market, SANY Renewable Energy is busy establishing itself as a global player within Europe.
The main goal? “To provide affordable turbines to our stakeholders so that Europe can reach its targets.” That's according to SANY Europe’s managing director, Paulo Fernando Soares, who uXʘ spoke to during this year’s WindEnergy Hamburg, the international renewable energy trade fair.
One of the biggest problems the European market is currently facing, says Soares, is that its targets are “very large” and “difficult to achieve.” OEMs also have to contend with the fact that requirements differ from country to country: “Europe is a patchwork of regulations, of permits, of targets,” he says. “And it’s very difficult for you to meet all those requirements in different places.”
Regardless, Soares is “quite confident” that SANY RE can meet the wind energy needs of every country within Europe. “We have a very large product portfolio. With all the models that we have, we can always find a solution.”
In fact, the SI-18580 and SI-17578 models were specifically designed with Europe in mind. While they follow the same structural design found within the OEM’s pre-existing 915 platform, the turbines have been adapted to meet European environmental and safety requirements.They have power ratings of 8MW and 7.8MW, rotor diameters of 185m and 175m and noise levels of 106.7dB(A) and 106.5dB(A), respectively. To achieve this lower noise level, the models adopt a low rotation speed design, combined with self-developed sawtooth trailing edge blades.
SANY RE’s brochure on the SI-18580 and SI-17578 models reports that “cost control measures are taken throughout the entire lifetime…which eventually translates into added value delivered to our clients.” For example, the OEM cuts costs during manufacturing by using automated manufacturing methods.
In transportation and installation, money is saved by using modular and platform-based designs, combined with the use of light-weight materials like QT-100 and a tailored split transportation scheme. And SANY RE’s intelligent manufacturing – which uses big data and a cloud platform to monitor the operation of the turbine online in real time and warn of failures in advance – works to increase the reliability of its turbines, therefore reducing the risks of costly breakdowns for customers.
Innovation is part of SANY RE’s core DNA, says Soares: “We are always looking to be more efficient, to do things in a better way”. The OEM wants to bring this mindset to Europe: “I think that will bring a huge benefit because it means that we will help our stakeholders to reach their targets. And I think doing it that way also makes a better product with better quality.”
In order for SANY RE to realise this potential within the European market, Soares says more global collaboration and cooperation is needed. For its part, the OEM is working on expanding its relationships with stakeholders so that they cover every part of the product life cycle. Its current focus is on research and test centres. There is sometimes some reluctance, however, on the part of the western OEMS, to embrace Chinese manufacturers. Soares says, “What we cannot forget is that the Chinese supply chain actually supports the European industry. Already 60-65% of all the components in a wind turbine are coming from China.” Soares would like to push through this current phase and start figuring out “how we can actually cooperate together so that we can achieve our targets in 2030. We need all the help we can get.”
Watch the video below to discover more about SANY RE’s European strategy and its attitude towards Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG).
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